Spotted: The Good Football at the World Cup — Vol II
💌 Mostly good news, zero TV screen photos
Previously on The Good Football
Spotted: The Good Football at the World Cup — Vol I
Bad World Cup, good football?
Great news: we’ve reached our Kickstarter goal for the Berlin Indie Football Festival, yay! If you want to join us and be a part of this cool gathering of people who not only believe in but are building a better football in many different ways, grab your tickets here and support indie football!
Another week of football, another report on the good football spotted during a controversial World Cup, to say the least. I promise this is a TV photography content-free area.
Other than being reminded that at any point we will come across news that yet another footballer was accused of, investigated for, or charged with sexual abuse…… it was a good World Cup week.
Enjoy the read!
The handwritten note left by the Iranian squad in the LA locker room speaks for itself. Later on, they left another touching note after their last match in this World Cup in Seattle.
Cabo Verde’s journey keeps bringing a breath of fresh air to the world of football. Their reaction to being qualified for the next round was beautiful. Best of the best of the best of luck to them in the upcoming match.
This dad helping his son “see” Portugal’s goal will surely make your day.
In Brazil, an unlikely footballer is grabbing people’s attention. People are finding out that Danilo (post in Portuguese) is a great leader on and off the pitch, because of his posture, interests and statements. Not to be that person, but as an investigator of the good football, I’ve had him on my radar for a while now. I’m pretty sure this interview in which he speaks about racism in football while playing for Juventus has appeared here before. He co-founded a media platform focused on featuring people and initiatives that generate positive impact, and a social project that uses sport as an education tool in Brazil. I'm glad this kind of public stance is what's catching people's attention; that’s exactly the kind of stuff I was hoping to find and report here.
Côte d’Ivoire manager Emerse Fae spoke up about the racism in Schweinsteiger’s comments when referring to his team - the same old ones we’re used to hearing. Worth the watch.
When South Africa qualified for the round of 32, this post told the story of Shosholoza, the powerful chant that originated in the 19th century. Of course it reminded me of this iconic song from the 2010 World Cup playlist. If you’re Brazilian (or can tap the translate button, hehe), this page is a must-follow.
Mexican legend GK Ochoa’s reaction when learning he’d go in and play his sixth World Cup edition was beautiful and such a good representation of the things we love the most about football!
I tried to, but I couldn’t escape from featuring the Socceroos again. I love this #KnowYourRoos series, in which the players talk about their roots and background, giving us a better picture of the diversity present in their national team. Through this post, I also learned that they’re staying in Oakland Roots’ facilities in the US. If you still don’t know them, this is a club with the good football in its DNA. What a collab!
These moms used the spotlight set on Mexico during the World Cup to bring awareness to the big missing persons crisis happening in the country for the last couple of decades. Hijacking the stage built for football to promote important causes when that space doesn’t come naturally is also practising good football.
THE GOOD LINKS
🤌 These gorgeous prints.
😍 More beautiful art.
💛 This Brazilian filmmaker using football to talk about belonging.
🔤 World Cup fonts.
🇧🇷 These photos.
🎨 The tifo created for AS Velasca by a group of young art students made its way to a proper museum. I love everything about this story.
COMPLETELY OFFSIDE
Links that are not football-related but still worth sharing.
***section temporarily suspended because everything is about the World Cup now***